The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for performing live operating system updates.
Updating or patching the kernel of an operation system generally requires rebooting the computing system. That is, the update or patch of the kernel is installed and then the computing system must be rebooted for the update or patch of the kernel to be loaded and executed on the computing system. This means that kernel fixes or updates cannot be applied to a system without restarting applications after experiencing some downtime to accomplish the rebooting operation.